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Danny Green dishes on his decision to sign with Lakers over Mavericks and Dallas' 'genuine' pursuit of him

TORONTO, ONTARIO - JUNE 10: Danny Green #14 of the Toronto Raptors is defended by Kevon Looney #5 of the Golden State Warriors in the first half during Game Five of the 2019 NBA Finals at Scotiabank Arena on June 10, 2019 in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)(Claus Andersen / Getty Images)

The new Los Angeles Laker described how the process being held up by Kawhi Leonard's decision (eventually to go to the Los Angeles Clippers) was not ideal for him, saying, "It was more so the team's waiting for Kawhi, I'm waiting on the teams. The teams had some offers, but they're not going to offer until he makes his decision."

Green ultimately found out about Leonard's decision in a Toronto Raptors' team group text. He then decided to join the Lakers, not the Mavericks, because of his belief in Dallas' timeline to becoming a "contender."

"I have a great relationship with Mark Cuban, Rick Carlisle, Donnie Nelson; they've always been around," Green said. "I've played them for years, played against them and had a really good mutual respect for each other from afar and when we see each other. So we had some great conversations on the phone during that time.

"They expressed their interest, but at the same time as much as I wanted to be there, I knew that was going to be a building type of deal there and it was going to take two or three years before they started getting into the contention or to contender category I felt. It all depended on how KP (Kristaps Porzingis) health-wise was, Luka (Doncic)'s coming up. A lot of things come into factor when it came to that."

Green shared that he was heavily pursued by Dallas and that it was hard to turn the team down.

"Dallas was genuine," Green said. "They were great with pursuing and making me a priority and recruiting me. It was a really hard conversation where I felt pressured into making the decision quick, because they put the heat on, but everybody in my family was like 'be patient, relax, wait it out and see what happens first before you start jumping into anything.'"

Other tidbits Green shared on the podcast include that he did not have cell phone service during all of the free agency craziness, being forced to rely on Wi-Fi and other people's phones, and that he also knew he would likely not be returning to Toronto with Leonard early on in the process.

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Not that it matters now, but I'm told that Danny Green told Mavs he was not returning to Toronto, even if Leonard came back to Raptors. His choices always were Lakers or Dallas. Had Leonard chosen Lakers, Green would be a Maverick. Even if so, Dallas planned to pursue Wright.